Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Christmas with the Smithereens features three original tunes, and as rock & roll Christmas albums go, this is good fun and admirably eclectic. The Smithereens are pretty broad-minded when it comes to what constitutes a Yuletide melody, given the presence of "Christmas," a not especially seasonal tune from the Who's Tommy, and they dig up the Beatles rarity "Christmas Time Is Here Again," as well as cutting a version of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" that's a dead ringer for the Fab Four.

Seasonal numbers from the Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, and the Ramones also make the set list, and you get a snappy spoken word rendition of "The Night Before Christmas" as well as some rollicking proto-surf boogie on "Auld Lang Syne." The big surprise here is that Pat DiNizio shares the vocal mic with his bandmates for a change, and if guitarist Jim Babjak and drummer Dennis Diken aren't quite up to DiNizio's standard as a singer, they fit their selections better than DiNizio's often-gloomy tone.

Fans waiting for a "real" Smithereens album will apparently have to wait a bit longer, but Christmas with the Smithereens is more thoughtful and intriguing than the average tossed-together holiday offering, and the best moments are a clear reminder of what makes this band worthwhile.

These 1968 Recordings Represent One of his Last Visits to a Studio in the United States. Originally Released on the Pzazz Label this was a Rare Collectors Item for Over 30 Years. All the Titles Are Making their Worldwide Debut on CD! Great stuff.

This is an appealing mix of secular and devotional Christmas songs by the once upon a time disco diva. They are all ballads, there's nothing to dance to here, but the album is a classic of its genre. On several tracks Donna is backed by the Nashville String Quartet and by various choirs on others.

The two slow ballads White Christmas and The Christmas Song are followed by a rousing version of O Come All Ye Faithful, where Donna is assisted by a children's and men's choir. Another highlight is the Christmas Medley consisting of What Child Is This/Do You Hear What I Hear?/Joy To The World, a most impressive arrangement.

I'll Be Home For Christmas comes across as a bit mournful, whilst Christmas Spirit is joyful and optimistic. The beautiful devotional Breath Of Heaven has a spoken intro. It is a most stirring piece of music with a magnificent melody and soaring vocals. Equally moving is O Holy Night, a slow, tender song with a gospel choir.

The album concludes with Lamb Of God. This one also has a spoken intro from the Gospel and a lovely inspirational sound with its children's and adult choirs. This wonderful album is on a par with two other great Chrismas albums by female vocalists: Noel by Noel Baez and Light Of The Stable by Emmylou Harris.

After all the holiday extravaganzas - here is a pleasant comp of familiar tunes to help you relax. pop it in and chill - or continue to party.

Following the massive success of 'Dreamboats And Petticoats' here comes 'Foot Tappers'. From the same era, these are the big instrumental hits showcasing the hugely popular guitar bands of the day. The album is stacked with perennial hits from The Shadows, The Ventures, The Tornados, Duane Eddy, The Surfaris, Johnny & The Hurricanes and Dick Dale & His Deltones (from Pulp Fiction).

"I Want You Around" is the name chosen for this first album organized by Mondo Ramone, and it's a tribute to the greatest punk-rock band Ramones. There are 25 bands from different countries: Argentina, Spain, Uruguay, France and the UK.

Each band performs the version in its own way. And there are covers in Spanish and English. The bands style is mostly punk-rock, with variations such as Ramonero-punk and pop-punk, plus some tribute bands.

Furthermore, the disc is accompanied by a magazine (in PDF) with detailed information on each band.

Underrated punks from the 90's - Pulsating anger, heavy guitars, simple but powerfull riffs and a stomping mid-tempo pace. This is Warrior Soul's best offering and I recommend to anybody who likes heavy rock. Although the lyrics are a bit on the depressive/angry side, listening to this CD is like being plugged into high voltage, I feel like bursting with energy every time!

The Weirding was recorded in a garage, and sounds like it. But if you are into 70's Prog rock, this should add to the aura. Astra's freshman attempt is mesmerizing in a nostalgic sort of way for those of us who were alive in the 70's and loved the progressive music of the day with it's melloton induced head spins. We saw no reason for it to disappear. It's nostalgic, only because it did disappear... for the most part. With a new generation, perhaps it's back, and here to stay, for a whole new generation to enjoy without having to have glimpses of the past. Astra's "The Weirding" is a bold attempt to slice into that not so musical mayhem that is Brittney Spears and 50 cent. An attempt to bring real music to the fore and perhaps musicianship to our ears.

To say this album is retro sounding would be a vast understatement. This album could have come out about 1974 and would have fit right in. The band's sound reminds me of the more pscyh oriented stuff from early Black Sabbath mixed with "Echoes" era Pink Floyd. The band is not all that far removed from modern day stoner rock bands such as The Sword either. The 8 tracks here are rather long and plodding, but to my ears they pretty much all work. I like the whole thing, but the tracks "Rising Of The Black Sun", "The Weirding", "Broken Glass", "The Dawning Of Ophiuchus", and "Beyond To Slight The Maze" are my favorites. The one drawback of the album is the actual recording itself. The production is pedestrian at best, sounding like it was recorded in a very lo-fi situation. This muddy mix again makes the album sound retro, but with proper modern production I think this thing could have sounded a heck of a lot better and would have been more effective. Sound problems aside, I think this is one of the best albums of the year and I highly recommend it.

1. The Rising Of The Black Sun 2. The Weirding 3. Silent Sleep 4. The River Under 5. Ouroboros 6. Broken Glass 7. The Dawning Of Orphiucus 8. Beyond To Slight The Maze

Üwe Schmidt is an supremely talented musician, with real soul and, equal to his musicianship, a sly sense of humor. So many stage names, such great titles: "Sounds like Preset Rhythm," "All Notes On," "Son of a Glitch." This record is a joy. It features loving, swinging Latin-style covers of several well-known US/English pop songs (Prince, Eurythimics, Trio, etc.) but when the band kicks into the famous Latin dance tune "Que Rico El Mambo," you know they are the real thing.Schmidt calls it Electrolatino, but this is truly great music no mater what

The biggest and most amazing wizards of the Electric Guitar from around the world reunite their talents to create the first volume of The Dream of the Electric Guitars. A collection of classic and rare to find Moody, dreamy seductive rock instrumental tracks, blazing with virtuosity and driven by one common element, the electric guitar. These amazing ever lasting performances feature the best electric guitar players in the world today such as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Neal Schon (Santana, Journey, Bad English), Steve Lukather (Toto), Gary Moore, Mike Stern, Marty Friedman (Megadeth), Michael Thompson (Celine Dion, Ray Charles, David Foster, Shania Twain), Andy Timmons, Tim Pierce and Markku Kanerva. This release also features some of the best musicians of our planet such as Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, Planet X), Simon Phillips (Toto), Mo Foster (Phil Collins), David Garfield and Pekka Pohjola just to name a few. More mellow than you would expect. Better background listening than driving. Worth having.

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About Me

Fun stuff:
Am a musicholic - I'm 52 -- I heard my first Ventures song in '66 and have been a fan of twang ever since. Of course all the other guitar gods were added over the years, along with a lot of other great music. I have been a DJ in my younger years on air -- WPFW and in clubs and currently produce a local television show about the performing arts.